Leaders should exercise patience in pursuit of goals
Leadership is a great responsibility bestowed upon those charged. Its pillars command influence, guidance and empowerment to its subjects, who are then able to forge forwards through their efforts in attaining the ideal that serves to alleviate conditions based on a vision with prescribed goals and objectives.
It is a heavy undertaking that requires soberness and commitment as well as a heart, spirit and soul to serve the people in patience and in honour.
Being a servant of the people, respect, patience and humility are among the key virtues demonstrated by past leaders who have made an indelible mark in the societies they have led.
However, it is also a delicate moment that requires soberness as despite the challenges therewith, leadership comes with a great deal of opportunities, money, power, resources that has often served to poison characters who have allowed the element of greed to sip into their veins.
An incessant yearning for more that, if not tamed wields incredulous leaders who not only fail to undertake their mandate but also focus on increasing their ability to have it all to a state of supremacy – greedy to the core. In Kenya, greed has been a key detractor and a recipe for downfall for many of our leaders.
It has fostered bad blood and mistrust and served to fuel vices such as corruption, disrespect and hunger for power that has made many shift from their mandate of serving the people to serving their egos and self interest.
It has further cultivated unwarranted actions that have been taken with disbelief and disgust.
Interestingly, leaders have continually failed to see this in themselves and have momentarily reinforced their claws and justified their moves to the extent of likening themselves to Bible characters not to learn but to glorify themselves as rightful and faultless in their actions.
They do this instead of taking those characters as a correction and learning reference in genuinely admitting their faults because true leaders are also wise enough to admit wrongdoing and willfully seek reconciliation.
Take the case of Nehemiah, he was a man who understood his call, his assignment to the people. Starting out as a cup-bearer to King Artaxexes, Nehemiah worked quietly under the King and not only showed respect to God but also showed great respect to his earthly king.
This was a man who lived a life of integrity and looked to the welfare of his people above self. Even when he faulted, Nehemiah was intentional in seeking reconciliation and never at any one particular point allowed thoughts of greed and self interest overtake him as a leader. I focus on Nehemiah because he was recently mentioned by Deputy President William Ruto in communicating that the Tobias’ and Balaks’ of Kenya would not succeed. For the purposes of learning,
Tobias and Balak were the two characters that greatly opposed Nehemiah in his quest in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was never discouraged in his assignment and eventually succeeded and more so because he was a committed and determined leader.
If Nehemiah never demonstrated his patience and humility, it is highly unlikely that he would have even encountered Tobias and Balak or even rebuilt the wall. Nehemiah was driven by integrity and rid of self-interest besides being commitment to serving the people.
At no particular point did he consider scheming to unseat the king even with the close proximity he was with the king.
Nehemiah was a leader who displayed contentment in the positions he served.
We can never overemphasise the essence of good leadership because it is among the key elements of prosperity in any society. But when greed creeps in the virtues turn to vices that only grow towards hate and destruction.
Chiteri is a communications graduate student [email protected]
